The present invention relates to golf clubs, and, in particular, to a golf club head for use in golf's short game, including pitching wedges, lob wedges, sand wedges and the like.
In golf, amateurs and professionals alike endeavor to keep the ball in play on the fairway or trimmed grass areas of the golf course and hopefully end up on the green surrounding the hole, where the ball can then be more easily putted into the cup. However, virtually all players, at some point in a game, will end up with the ball close to but not on the green, and have to then hit the ball out of a hazard such as a sand trap or out of the "rough", or the area of taller or coarse grass.
Golf clubs referred to as wedges are used for this type of stroke, wherein the loft of the club head is substantially increased to provide a golf shot which has greater vertical height, less forward distance. That is, the angle between the vertical and a plane formed by the face of the club head is substantially greater than zero, and often about 50-60 degrees. The intent in having such a large loft is to hit the ball more upwardly so that it lands and remains on the green in a closer position to the hole. For all wedge types, a back spin will ideally be imparted on the ball which causes it to go up and out of the hazard, stopping on the green without too much forward travel. Pitching or lob wedges are used in a golfer's short game wherein the ball is on the fairway and only needs to be hit a short distance onto the nearby green. Such wedges may also be used to hit out of the rough, and sand wedges are used for hitting the ball out of a sand trap.
Rather than directly contacting the ball, the sand wedge is intended to hit the sand at about one inch behind the ball, just prior to contacting the ball. This type of shot cushions the ball so that it does not travel a great distance; however, it is hard to hit through sand or tall grass. Ground contact usually produces misalignment of the club head prior to hitting the ball, and the golfer's swing is made less smooth in the attempt to swing through the sand or grass. That is, because of the presence of loose sand or long grass, the wedge tends to be prematurely stopped by the entrapment of the ground between the wedge and the ball, so that the golfer's swing is either not completed or is not of desirable form.
To compensate, many golfers will avoid all but minimal contact with the ground by the wedge, so that the ball hits near the bottom edge of the face of the club head, well below its "sweet spot". The result is less than full force on the ball and reduced control of the resultant trajectory of the ball. The ball then travels more horizontally than vertically and may end up in another hazard or otherwise positioned detrimentally with respect to the number of additional strokes required to get to the end of the hole. Consequently, there exists a dilemma in the golfer's short game, wherein the golfer must exercise great control and a certain finesse in order to accurately place the ball in a desirable position on the nearby green, and yet he or she is also aware of the difficulty in hitting out of the sand or grass and therefore feels a need to hit the ball harder.
One attempt to overcome the entrapment of the ground by the wedge at a hazard comprises a golf club head having a pair of rails on the bottom surface or sole. The rails extend below the face of the club head, effectively raising the face off the ground. However, in actual use these rails tend to become entangled with or entrapped by the ground, therefore having an opposite effect than that intended. That is, the force imparted to the ball by the club head is reduced. There is a misalignment from the sweet spot of the club face and control over the ball trajectory is thus diminished.